2013 US Rep of the Year

Northern CA

Will Lachenauer

I grew up in Fairport outside of Rochester in the very snowy Upstate New York region. Winter sports were a way of life and served as a way for family to spend time together. Like many in the Snow Sports industry, my current employment has roots in a car full of skis and a road trip across the country to find bigger mountains and deeper snow. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, I made good on a personal promise to spend one year skiing. That path started in Durango CO, headed south and further west through Richard Mobley’s Ski Surf Shop in Manhattan Beach and landed in Mammoth Lakes working for Footloose at the North Village location. One turned into four years of amazing friends and adventures in the Sierras. Those experiences led to a position with Atomic’s race program for a tour at Hood and then to working with Bill Mayo and Atomic back on the East Coast as an associate representative. Shortly, the Sierra’s call couldn’t be ignored and a connection with Dalbello led to a return to the Tahoe area as a sales representative. That connection with Dalbello has spanned 15 years of working and playing in the Sierras. Being back on the west coast also led me to my wife, Tanya and the beginning of our own skiing family in Reno NV where we live.

What being a family sport really means became very apparent after I was paralyzed in 2008 during a motocross race. My skiing family rallied, helping me make the adjustment to a new mobility. That skiing family helped support me in my recovery and return to my wife Tanya and two daughters Uma, 7 and Deja, 5. Now, I get to join them in learning how to slide down a mountain and keep looking for new adventures which includes winning Gold in 2016 at the Rio Paralympics as a member of the US Paracycling team. I feel very fortunate, all of this from a car full of skis, on a search for more snow and bigger mountains.

“Life, just like skiing has lots of ups and downs… it is up to us to get the most out of both”—Will Lachenauer

"The SIA Snow Show is the best time of the year! You get to see all the new technology coming out, you get to see all the sales reps you have relationships with, and then right around the corner you get to test everything out at the On-Snow Demo at Copper."
Katy Graul, Ski Brokers, Fraser, CO

"For me, the Show is so much more than just a product presentation, it's a true breeding ground for ideas and inspiration. The forums, the marketing information, and the opportunities for retailers like me to network with each other has become a major feature for me."
Teddy Schiavoni, Summit Ski Shop, Framingham, MA

"It's the place to go to see as many manufacturing companies as you can see under one roof at one time. It’s the latest and greatest of everything that’s going to be coming through the stores in the next six to eight months. I think people do a disservice to themselves by not going."
Susan Woody, sales rep, Turtle Fur

"This Show is so important because it's the preview for what’s to come; it's the big picture. You can talk to the people that are in sales, product development, we can tell you plans for next year as well as help retailers with their buy so they become informed and make better decisions for their business."
Ryan Green, Nordic Division Manager, Rossignol

"From an international perspective, I can see that the whole US snow sports industry is truly a community. Everybody's here and you can see that it's a family."
Sigi Rumphuber, Product Designer/Engineer, G3

"This whole business is based on relationships, so if you don’t get that face to face time it's difficult to continue those relationships or build new ones. And of course we have to be at the Show because it gives a chance for everyone to see the full line, and to talk about any problems or potential opportunities."
Josh Roberts, VP, Nitro Snowboards